Jung speculated that instincts derived from the psychoid unconscious. He believed that the unconscious contains many ancient and archaic elements, much more primitive than the more recently evolved conscious/scientific mind. Jung suggested that the unconscious contains a very ancient psychic dimension, the contents of which form the core of what he referred to as the 'collective unconscious'. The collective unconscious is the common and inherited sub-stratum of the human psyche. According to Jung's theory, if we continue to descend into our unconscious, we would soon enter a level of the mind where the personal layer ends. There, we would discover the residues of ancestral life, the earliest of all memories and the most profound experiences of our ancient ancestors [Joseph, P.17].

Jung never actually stated where he believed these instincts and collective unconscious reside. He simply postulated that the collective unconscious was a place where the biological and the psychological might mingle and influence one another. According to Jung, the collective unconscious is an aspect of the mind that functions in harmony with inherited tendencies to respond to certain experiences with emotional, spiritual, mythical, or religious feelings, images, thoughts, and ideas. Collectively, these primordial feelings and images are called archetypes. Jung believed these archetypes are encountered in dreams and mythology and can also ascend into consciousness through the creation of art.

In my view, there has to be some truth to Jung's theory. How else to explain the ancient and universal attraction to certain symbols and shapes? In every culture, people have created similar icons, unaware of the identical images created by different, unrelated cultures. These shapes include the spiral, circle, square, star, triangle, diamond, cross and many other basic shapes that we generally take for granted. Wells, trees and standing stones have been universally recognized as symbols of pagan worship. Motifs like the egg, pods, seeds, roots, holes and the moon are universally associated with women. Images are the universal language. The closer one can come to visually interpreting the visceral, unconscious and instinctual realm, the more direct the artist's message.

Redefining Western Femininity

If Western culture were to base it's definition of femininity on my conceptualization of the intestines, then Western woman could respectfully rely on the power of her instincts, intuition and unconscious without forfeiting the power of her intellect, spirit or ability to rationalize. If our society could change its negative views on embodiment, woman could more openly celebrate her visceral connection to the earth, nature and the ancient archetypal symbols.

Jung's theories about archetypal images illustrate the importance of womens' long-standing relationship to nature. Fear of womens' powerful pagan connections to the earth has resulted in derogatory views and has been detrimental to womankind since the beginning of Christianity.

For woman to embody the virtues of nature is to be empowered. Nature and our base instincts are the oldest and most primal of beings, they are what we can rely on when articulation and intellect fail. As the most ancient of entities, these possess a strength, dignity, integrity and beauty that is beyond conscious human comprehension. The woman and nature connection surpasses intellectual explanation. The primitive and ancestral images provide a direct and immediate means of expression. My works challenge traditional Western views and redefine the concept of femininity to encompass a more positive definition of woman, her intestines, archetypes and nature.

Psychoanalyzing Art

Interpreting art derived from this woman/nature/symbolic level is a difficult task. Because psychoanalytic art criticism reduces art to its subject matter, many fear that it interprets away specifities of form, technique or medium to get to psychological themes, which are then most often interpreted, minimized or dismissed as sexual. Sometimes this process of evaluation destroys the credibility of the work and the artist's intended message. Often the psychoanalytic conclusions are erroneous and disrespectful. The interpretations are not necessarily inherent in the painting but happens when the artist's intimate creative expression is translated or reduced into mere words. The intent of the piece is often demeaned, reduced or even lost by being spoken.

Aesthetic values are taught. Western culture teaches that the proper way to enjoy art is to enjoy it's formal and technical qualities, however, our instinct, intuition and unconscious resists that 'civilizing' education and responds to subject matter. Art is about attraction, not necessarily sexual. An intuitive attraction to subject matter can be inhibited and forbidden by such civilized education. The subject matter does not have to be about some experience of sexuality, however, because we experience the subject matter as forbidden and embarrassing, it causes us to feel as though the attraction were sexual.

The greatest creations are still unresolved riddles to our conscious civilized understanding. Great works of art are always a challenge to the legitimacy of authority. A great image changes the viewer and takes him/her beyond the conscious self. It puts the viewer into a state of unconscious passivity that is seen as a violation of the conscious body, a permeation of the self. This aspect of art is believed to be something dangerous and threatening and at the same time pleasurable.

A work of art, like instincts, has the desire for, but resistance to, logical meaning. Paintings pass beyond the realm of words and language, the symbol system of the conscious mind. The desire to analyze and interpret the works evolves out of our struggle to understand what moves us. The questions raised are disturbingly intimate. The artist's desire to create a wordless message can be seen as an act of rebellion against civilized society.

Certain psychoanalyst's feel that choices within art originate from an individual's desire to satiate unfulfilled wishes. They feel that wants and needs are acted out through our artistic mediums and are therefore consciously gratified. Some, in line with Jung, feel that the choices of color, symbolism and concepts are based on primitive instincts derived from the 'collective unconscious'. Others believe the images created are a result of the release of repressed memories from childhood or other traumatizing events.

The Intestines In Relation To My Own Art

The belief that artists act out unfulfilled wishes in their works is true, in my own experience. I believe the unconscious allows access to the hidden content of our experiences. Through painting I am able release the emotions and thoughts I may not consciously allow myself to recognize. Instincts provide us with a more profound knowledge about the world than conscious thought. Which, in my opinion, relies too heavily on surface appearances and the expected. The unconscious, instinctual aspect of our body transcends intellect and understands everything on a deeper, more primordial, clearly basic level.

On a conscious level, the aim of my work is to express the spirit of women overcoming difficulties. The intention is to illustrate and explore the positive forces of female nature. The images are a combination of intellect and instinct, they are meant to be raw, base, explicit and expressive. I want the viewer to react. It is important to evoke a strong emotional response from my viewers. I want the female viewer to walk away from the experience feeling empowered.

Much of my art is about seeing and confronting inner fears. The works are created out of the desire to release the emotions and memories within. I use the act of creation as therapy and a way to visualize my unconscious thought. The process of painting serves to integrate the repressed aspects of my personality into the surface persona, creating a unity that keeps me balanced and sane.

The choice of subject matter in my work is a result of my life experience and knowledge I have gained both mentally and physically. My primary focus is a combination of women, nature, anger, pain, life, death and rebirth because that is the subject matter I know most intimately. The colors I use evolve out of mood or unconscious attraction more than from a conscious or intellectual decision. I believe every artist has a signature pallet based on their personality, gender, culture and individual life experience. Sometimes a concept will lead to a color and conversely a color can lead to an image. Generally, colors, textures, mediums and subject matter grow and change as the artist develops.

The symbols, body parts, animals and patterns I use all have multiple meanings and different levels of significance to each work. Often, my attraction or reasoning behind the use of these elements, colors and archetypes in my work is beyond my ability to explain in words. I rely on the image to relay my message. Unfortunately, for those who ask, I cannot be more concrete and specific about my process of creation, as I consider it against everything I believe to limit the powers of the unconscious by describing it in words. Like those who have religious faith, I allow myself to trust and have complete faith in that which I cannot define. I believe in the powers vested in the intestines.

Ultimately there is no science to the decisions in my work. I do not view these choices as a commercial artist or interior designer might. I am not trying to target a market, create an ambiance, or sell decorator art. What I do in my work is primarily for me and those who choose to understand and relate to it. What I do is express myself. To do so successfully, I rely on a combination of my spirit, instincts, intuition, emotions, sexuality and intellect. My art is multidimensional and created from all aspects of my embodiment.

Intestines Symbolized